Anniversary dinner

carla said:

mr. carla and I are celebrating our anniversary

happy anniversary, carla.

My feeling is that posts like this that share cheating plans are not
helpful.

happy anniversary carla!

try to eat your entire meal (appetizer etc) within an hour
limit....................
following CAD while i'm in restaurants works!

--
Voting is a federal right, and the rights of students to register to
vote where they attend college is guaranteed by federal law in
federal elections.

"carla" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
:
: mr. carla and I are celebrating our anniversary tradition, and as
is our
: anniversary tradition we will have dinner at an Afghan restaurant
that we
: love. Afghan food is kind of a cross between Indian food and
Middle Eastern
: food. There are a few wonderful things that don't really fit into
my plan,
: so I am planning ahead today so that I can enjoy them in small
quantities
: this evening without going too far off plan.
:
: The entrees are usually served with spiced rice - I don't think I
will have
: too much trouble avoiding the rice. The breadbasket, however,
contains the
: most wonderful flatbread with butter and garlic and herbs. My
plan will be
: to have a piece of this, but not right when it lands on the
table - I will
: wait until the meal arrives. This is because once I have one, it
will be
: hard to stop if it is sitting in front of me beckoning.
:
: My favorite appetizer at this restaurant is a kind of pastry
pillow filled
: with spiced meat or spiced potato (the order comes with one of
each). I
: plan to have some of this as well, though I may focus on the meat
one more
: and let mr. carla have the potato one. (I suppose we could ask
for two of
: the meat ones, but mr. carla likes them both, so that's not really
fair.)
: As with the flatbread, the key will be: I don't have to eat the
whole thing
: just because it is there. I will eat a bite or two to get the
taste, and
: the happy anniversary feeling that we associate with this meal,
and that
: will be all.
:
: There's my accountability for the day. I'm avoiding carbs a bit
more than
: usual today also - no fruit today - to account for the fact that
I'll be
: eating a little bready stuff tonight. It won't be a perfect day,
but it
: won't be an all-out eatfest either. I'll let you know how it
turns out.
:
: --
: carla
: http://geekofalltrades.typepad.com/geek
:
:

Cubit said:

My feeling is that posts like this that share cheating plans are not
helpful.

not everyone who chooses to splurge on something special thinks of it as
cheating.

I don't think of any deviation from your plan as "cheating"... It's all
about choices.

We are in control of our choices and sometimes we make ones that are not
consistant with our goals.

But who are we cheating? We chose this WOE.

Jennifer

Cheri said:

You got that right. If we were that perfect, there would be no need for
diet support groups. An anniversary happens once a year, no need to
worry about one day. Happy Anniversary Carla. :-)

--
Cheri

The Queen of Cans and Jars wrote in message <1gju61y.140d5496ldkbeN%>not
everyone who chooses to splurge on something special thinks of it as

Quoted message said:

cheating.

"carla" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Happy anniversary. Your meal sounds delicious. I love Indian and
Middle Eastern food, so this sounds right up my alley.

As far as your carb indulgences go...regularly, are you in ketosis? I
mean, when you're not cheating? Reason I ask, is that this meal is
going to kick you out of ketosis, regardless of the amount of high
carb stuff you eat. That one piece of bread, or that meat & potato
pastry thing will do it. So, if it were me, I'd just eat whatever the
heck I wanted for your special meal and jump back on the wagon the
next morning. The diet I used to follow had one "cheat hour" a week.
It would kick me out of ketosis, but I'd be back in within 36-48
hours. I say go for it, and enjoy the cuisine as it was intended to be
eaten...over rice, with bread to soak up the yummy sauces...whatever.

Lee

"Cubit" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

My feeling is that posts like this that share cheating plans are not
helpful.

Ah. Well, allow me to apologize to the group for having made a post
that Cubit feels is unhelpful.

I do have a question for you, Cubit. Do you mean to say that you
believe they are not helpful to the poster, or that you believe they
are not helpful to the other members of the group?

If the latter, I really have nothing to say to that. If the former,
though, I would submit that the helpfulness of the post would vary
poster to poster. For many people, having some kind of
accountability, even to relative strangers, is of some value. In
addition, I think most people appreciate the value of formulating a
concrete strategy before going into a situation in which temptations
to go off plan are present, and then sticking to that strategy.
Perhaps you would have preferred if I had formulated my strategy in my
own journal rather than in a newsgroup posting. If that is the case,
well, that's too bad.

--
carla
http://geeokofalltrades.typepad.com

carla wrote:
|| "Cubit" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
|| news:<[email hidden]>...
||| My feeling is that posts like this that share cheating plans are not
||| helpful.
|||
|| Ah. Well, allow me to apologize to the group for having made a post
|| that Cubit feels is unhelpful.
||

I disgree with his comment. I think your post was helpful because you were
talking about the choices you were going to make on a special occasion.
Sooner or later, all of us will be faced with the need to make such choices.

|| I do have a question for you, Cubit. Do you mean to say that you
|| believe they are not helpful to the poster, or that you believe they
|| are not helpful to the other members of the group?
||
|| If the latter, I really have nothing to say to that. If the former,
|| though, I would submit that the helpfulness of the post would vary
|| poster to poster. For many people, having some kind of
|| accountability, even to relative strangers, is of some value. In
|| addition, I think most people appreciate the value of formulating a
|| concrete strategy before going into a situation in which temptations
|| to go off plan are present, and then sticking to that strategy.
|| Perhaps you would have preferred if I had formulated my strategy in
|| my
|| own journal rather than in a newsgroup posting. If that is the case,
|| well, that's too bad.

I think the post could be helpful to the OP and to other members.

[email hidden] (Lee) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

[snip]

Quoted message said:

As far as your carb indulgences go...regularly, are you in ketosis? I
mean, when you're not cheating? Reason I ask, is that this meal is
going to kick you out of ketosis, regardless of the amount of high
carb stuff you eat. That one piece of bread, or that meat & potato
pastry thing will do it. So, if it were me, I'd just eat whatever the
heck I wanted for your special meal and jump back on the wagon the
next morning. The diet I used to follow had one "cheat hour" a week.
It would kick me out of ketosis, but I'd be back in within 36-48
hours. I say go for it, and enjoy the cuisine as it was intended to be
eaten...over rice, with bread to soak up the yummy sauces...whatever.

Thanks for the comments. I am probably not in ketosis, or in and out
of it from time to time - it's not something I monitor. So I am not
too concerned about eating more carbs than usual for that reason -
only to the extent that for me, eating more carbs usually means eating
more calories. I think I can have just as good a time tonight eating
an 800 calorie meal as I could if I ate a 2000 calorie meal. The
former is more or less within my plan, even if it includes some items
that I would not ordinarily include in my dinner choices.

Everyone's relationship to food is different, but for me, getting
control of my eating means learning not to "go for it" even when the
food is good and the occasion special. I can always find excuses to
overeat or to eat calorie-dense, nutrition poor foods. The key for me
is to train myself to eat with restraint even when there are perfectly
good reasons not too.
To put that another way, I don't want to have to jump back on the
wagon in the morning - I want to stay on the wagon the whole time -
the wagon I would like to be riding, that is, which is not
"Atkins/ketogenic/certain carb limit," but rather "moderation in all
things."

--
carla
http://geekofalltrades.typepad.com

There have been many posts about eating excessive carbs, where the poster
seems to be bragging about the carby thing they are going to eat. It
usually comes with a collection of rationalizations about why the carbs are
ok on this occasion. Often the occasion is in some way "special."

To really succeed at this LC thing, we need to adjust to the LC way-of-life.
At the time of my comment, I was really thinking about the effect these
posts have on others, but as a mechanism of self delusion, they might be
unwise for the posters as well.

I did not mean to suggest that you should not share about your approach to
managing low carb. Maybe, instead of pointing out the adverse effect your
falling off the wagon (jumping) might have on others, I should have simply
chastized you for it. Hmmm. I don't like a punative approach. Indeed,
with that in mind, I should have pointed out how wonderful your health and
appearance will be if you can stick to things.

I recently attended a birthday gathering where only two of us ate nothing,
while the group, about 30, had full carb ice cream and cake. Everybody
seemed to accept this. I was surprised. I thought I would catch some flack
for not eating it. Apparently, here in the Silicon Valley, low carb is
respected, even by those who do not participate. January's surge in the
press may have had an impression.

Low Carb fails, when dieters return to eating the carbs. Viewing carby
meals as special treats is setting the stage for future failure. We should,
like Iggy, actively search for the path to lifelong success.

Cubit said:

Maybe, instead of pointing out the adverse effect your falling off the
wagon (jumping) might have on others, I should have simply chastized you
for it.

or you could just take your sanctimonious [censored] and shove it.

Wasn't it Nina who used to say " people, it's only food?" Knowing that
you can go out for a special dinner once in awhile, without it changing
your whole life or ruining your eating plan is what I call LC success.
YMMV
--
Cheri

Quoted message said:

Cubit said:

Maybe, instead of pointing out the adverse effect your falling off

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

wagon (jumping) might have on others, I should have simply chastized

you

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

for it.

The Queen of Cans and Jars wrote in message
<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

or you could just take your sanctimonious [censored] and shove it.

The Queen of Cans and Jars said:

carla said:

mr. carla and I are celebrating our anniversary

happy anniversary, carla.

Thanks, and thanks to others as well. We had a nice dinner, and I pretty
much stuck to my plan - except I ate two pieces of bread instead of one!
8-)

There were two appetizers that sounded wonderful - the pastry pillow one I
mentioned in my original post, and a baked spiced pumpkin that I really
wanted to try (it was awesome, but very sweet). So since we were sharing
two appetizers instead of one, I ordered a simple entree - Afghan grilled
chicken with salad and grilled vegetables. The salad was greens with dates
and figs, which wouldn't ordinarily be part of my plan but were wonderful.
I didn't finish the chicken so I have great leftover chicken for tomorrow.
I'm pleased - I had a nice meal without stuffing myself silly. (mr. carla
had spicy lamb stew with rice, and cleaned his plate.)

--
carla
http://geekofalltrades.typepad.com/geek

It's only food that made you fat, and it's only food that keeps you that
way.

--
Most people are dumb as bricks; some people are dumber than that. -- MFW

"Cheri" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Wasn't it Nina who used to say " people, it's only food?" Knowing that
you can go out for a special dinner once in awhile, without it changing
your whole life or ruining your eating plan is what I call LC success.
YMMV
--
Cheri

Quoted message said:

Cubit said:

Maybe, instead of pointing out the adverse effect your falling off

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

wagon (jumping) might have on others, I should have simply chastized

you

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

for it.

The Queen of Cans and Jars wrote in message
<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

or you could just take your sanctimonious [censored] and shove it.

"The Queen of Cans and Jars" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

or you could just take your sanctimonious [censored] and shove it.

If I were indulging in carbs or failing at weight loss, my preaching might
be sanctimonious. However, I have maintained my purity. Over the last 8
months I have kept an average of 28 net carbs per day.

As I recall, I did have some pizza, back in February. I learned from my
mistake.

I have cast my pearls before a swine with eloquence characterized by a
polysyllabic vocabulary.

Cubit said:

There have been many posts about eating excessive carbs, where the
poster seems to be bragging about the carby thing they are going to
eat. It usually comes with a collection of rationalizations about
why the carbs are ok on this occasion. Often the occasion is in some
way "special."

Did my original post fall into this original category? It didn't seem so to
me. First, I don't believe I did any bragging. Second, the whole point of
my post was how I planned to *avoid* eating "excessive" carbs - excessive
for me, that is.

Quoted message said:

To really succeed at this LC thing, we need to adjust to the LC
way-of-life. At the time of my comment, I was really thinking about
the effect these posts have on others, but as a mechanism of self
delusion, they might be unwise for the posters as well.

Do you believe that I am not adjusting to the LC way of life? Actually, I
should take that back. I don't really care whether you think so, because
what it appears you think of as the ("the" - that's your word) LC way of
life is not actually the way of life I am trying to live.

Quoted message said:

I did not mean to suggest that you should not share about your
approach to managing low carb. Maybe, instead of pointing out the
adverse effect your falling off the wagon (jumping) might have on
others, I should have simply chastized you for it. Hmmm.

<laughing> I hardly would have found your comments more compelling if you
had done so! Really, all I was asking for was some clarification. Also, I
point out again that you and I do not appear to be riding the same wagon.

Quoted message said:

I don't
like a punative approach. Indeed, with that in mind, I should have
pointed out how wonderful your health and appearance will be if you
can stick to things.

You don't like a punitive approach? I can believe that. You seem to prefer
a sanctimonious and dogmatic one. Okay then.

Quoted message said:

I recently attended a birthday gathering where only two of us ate
nothing, while the group, about 30, had full carb ice cream and
cake. Everybody seemed to accept this. I was surprised. I thought
I would catch some flack for not eating it. Apparently, here in the
Silicon Valley, low carb is respected, even by those who do not
participate. January's surge in the press may have had an impression.

I'll tell you something - a comment I've made before here - folks often seem
to expect that they will be somehow ostracized for making different food
choices than everyone else, but like you I have not found this to be the
case. (And I do not live in the Silicon Valley.) Occasionally, someone
will ask me "are you sure?" when I turn down a piece of cake or whatnot, but
that's really the end of it. I don't ever find myself having to defend that
choice to an army of curious officemates, as others seem to describe. So
I'm with you on this - I make my choices, I'm firm about them without
offering rafts of defensive explanations, and that's the end of it.

Quoted message said:

Low Carb fails, when dieters return to eating the carbs. Viewing
carby meals as special treats is setting the stage for future
failure. We should, like Iggy, actively search for the path to
lifelong success.

That is precisely what I am doing. Except I am not doing it "like Iggy" -
because I am not Iggy, I am carla. Is it necessary that we each follow the
same path? That's a rhetorical question - if your answer is "yes," it's
not going to convince me to convert to your religion.

Let me ask you a non-rhetorical question: why do you view one off-plan meal
as a failure? Considering how I would have approached this anniversary meal
were I not consciously trying to control my eating, to me this evening feels
like a grand, tremendous success.

--
carla
http://geekofalltrades.typepad.com/geek

Ignoramus26161 said:

Hm, don't they serve kebabs or some sort of big lamb pieces?

That's more or less what I had, except chicken instead of lamb. I actually
eat lamb kebab all the time - there's a wonderful Lebanese restaurant down
the block from my home.

Quoted message said:

The bread, I would skip entirely.

That's nice.

--
carla
http://geekofalltrades.typepad.com/geek

In your case, the food obviously keeps you full of [censored]. Sit down and
take a hard one, you'll feel better. :-)

--
Cheri

JC Der Koenig wrote in message ...

Quoted message said:

It's only food that made you fat, and it's only food that keeps you

that

Quoted message said:

way.

--
Most people are dumb as bricks; some people are dumber than that. --

MFW

Quoted message said:

Ignoramus26161 said:

Hm, don't they serve kebabs or some sort of big lamb pieces?

The bread, I would skip entirely.

Double follow-up here, because I'd like to add one more comment. Unlike
many folks around here who prepare most of their meals at home, I eat out
very frequently, and know how to make good choices that are consistent with
my eating plan. I eat lunch every day and frequently dinner at my office
cafeteria and avoid all manner of temptation there. I eat dinner at
restaurants - frequently excellent restaurants, but also ordinary ones like
Pizzeria Uno - once or twice a week. I know how to order the grilled steak
or chicken with a side of vegetables. I don't eat the bread just because it
is in front of me. And I don't go off plan just because there is an
opportunity to do so.

This evening was my anniversary, and my husband and I went to the same
wonderful restaurant where we have celebrated every anniversary since our
first. This was not merely someone's birthday party, or someone's barbeque,
or some generic excuse to misbehave, and my posting about it here was not
some kind of rationalization. This was a very special and rare occasion - I
likely won't have another like it for many months - and I planned for it,
altered the way I ate during the day in anticipation of it, and approached
it with a plan of attack that led me to have a much better and closer to
healthy meal (and day as a whole) than I would have had if I'd been on no
plan at all or if I'd approached this as a caution-to-the-winds cheat day.

As a person who has been a no-holds-barred, if-it-tastes-good-keep-eating-it
face-stuffer her entire life, I consider this a massive success. Moderation
in all things is my long term goal.

--
carla
http://geekofalltrades.typepad.com/geek